Planned Parenthood losing funding over new Trump administration rule
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Planned Parenthood is losing federal Title X funding, because it’s refusing to comply with the Trump administration’s new rule banning participants from referring patients for abortions.
Pro–life groups are calling it a victory, saying it proves that Planned Parenthood — despite its own claims to the contrary — is focused on abortion.
“Abortion is a non–negotiable for them,” said Barth Bracy of Rhode Island Right to Life. “It’s the very heart of what they do. Through actions like this, more and more people are becoming aware that Planned Parenthood is about abortion.”
The organization disputes that.
“It’s not just about abortion,” said Craig O’Connor of Planned Parenthood Southern New England. “It’s about the fact that medical professionals should be able to offer healthcare services using their expertise, their education, without interference from politicians. This is an absurd, dangerous, and unethical attack on the healthcare of millions of patients across the country.”
O’Connor says Rhode Islanders won’t stand for it.
“The Trump administration gag rule on reproductive healthcare providers like Planned Parenthood stands in stark contrast to the clear will of the people of Rhode Island, who support reproductive rights,” he said.
But Bracy says Rhode Islanders who don’t support those rights, shouldn’t be forced to pay for abortion-related services.
“It’s unconscionable to force taxpayers to pay for something they find morally reprehensible,” he said.
O’Connor says the roughly 1,500 Rhode Islanders rely who rely on Title X should not fear.
“We get lots of questions about it,” he said. “That’s why we want to say, our doors stay open. No one will be turned away.”
O’Connor says planned parenthood has contingency funding in place, and does not expect major service changes or longer wait times here.
President Richard Nixon signed Title X into law in 1970 to provide family planning services to low–income people.
Planned Parenthood is already prohibited from using federal funds directly to perform abortions.
©WLNE-TV/ ABC6 2019
